Conference motions

Conference is appalled by the trans exclusionary radical feminist protestors from Lancaster Resisters who decided to march at the front of the Manchester Pride parade in August this year. Reports suggest that they covered about half of the parade route before exiting the parade after engagement by Police and Pride Officials. Following the event, a […]

Conference welcomes the fact that ILGA-Europe have organised a “Gathering for D/deaf and disabled LGBTI activists in Europe and Central Asia” which takes place 21 – 24 November 2019 in Brussels and that UNISON will be part of that gathering. The gathering provides the opportunity for D/deaf, disabled lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) […]

Conference believes that self- organised groups (SOGs) are the equality life blood of UNISON. The core to trade union organising is bringing people together who share a common experience at work. That is why we organise members who share a common workplace experience of oppression and discrimination due to gender or race or because they […]

Conference notes: a)2019 commemorates the 52nd anniversary of the occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza b) In 2017 research by War on Want showed that HSBC had invested over £800 million in, and provided syndicated loans worth up to £19 billion for, companies providing weapons and equipment to the Israeli military. These […]

Conference notes that: 1)The Supreme Court decision in Walker v Innospec in July 2017, that upon John Walker’s death his husband should get the same pension as would a wife had he married a woman, relies upon European Union (EU) law and sets aside a provision of the United Kingdom’s Equality Act 2010 that permitted […]

Conference recognises that modern slavery is usually hidden and that there are high risks of slavery linked to the global supply chains of the goods and services we procure. Conference applauds UNISON’s commitment to ensuring there is no slavery or human trafficking within any part of its business or its supply chains. This is an […]

Conference acknowledges the findings of the recent Trades Unions Congress (TUC) report “Sexual harassment of LGBT people in the workplace, published in May 2019, which details the shockingly high levels of sexual harassment and sexual assault faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) workers. The reports sets out the unheard voices of LGBT workers […]

Conference notes and embraces the strides that UNISON has taken in the establishment of a now thriving bi network within the union. Conference also welcomes the addition of the plus to our group, which demonstrates our commitment to the inclusion of our siblings who use different labels for themselves, including those who identify as pansexual […]

Conference notes that the consultation by the Westminster government on reform of the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) 2004 closed on the 19th October 2018. Since the closure of the consultation, there has been little sign of specific proposals to reform the GRA. Conference further notes that in the LGBT Action Plan: Annual progress report 2018 […]

Conference believes that since the repeal of Section 28 in 2003 educators on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Plus (LGBT+) inclusive education in schools have made an essential contribution in the fight for equality rights for the LGBT+ community. However in recent years we have seen a backlash to this from the far right and […]

Conference notes the tightening of abortion access in states such as Alabama in the United States of America (USA) with despair. Abortion is a health issue and disproportionately affects people in poverty, the working poor and people living in rural areas Despite recent Parliamentary intervention in the absence of a Stormont Assembly, access within the […]

Conference welcomes the successful campaign to seek a rule change to become a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Plus (LGBT+) Self Organised Group at this year’s National Delegate Conference (NDC). This change would not have been possible if it had not been for the work of our activists sharing the reasons for this important change […]

In UNISON’s year of the young worker, conference notes that our recent name change to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender plus (LGBT+) is a progressive step towards further inclusion. It was our young members who suggested the name change and this was whole heartedly supported by the work of our National LGBT+ committee. Our young […]

Conference notes that research undertaken by The Guardian newspaper this year highlighted that homophobic and transphobic hate crimes in England and Wales have more than doubled over the past five years, with Police recording 11,600 crimes in the most recent year of data. Of concern, almost half (46%) of the crimes from 2017-2018 were violent […]